In a first reaction, Lothar Lockl, electoral leader of Van der Bellen, said that he felt “incredible gratitude and relief”. The Greens spokeswoman Eva Glawischnig said: “This is a historical day, a historical moment.”
Hofer’s campaign manager, Herbert Kickl said the establishment fought a bitter campaign of inciting fear.
“The establishment that wants to prevent change, has now achieved a victory, but that is not the end of history.”
Hofer himself said that he was “infinitely sad” about the outcome. He would have liked to “take care of our Austria” he said.
The FPÖ boss Heinz-Christian Strache also expressed his disappointement: “I had hoped for more.” To explain the defeat he said: “There was a massive fear campaign of the system against Norbert Hofer.”
According to first estimates, Van der Bellen gained 53.7 per cent, and Hofer came in at 46.3 per cent. The range of fluctuation is 1.2 percent, according to statisticians, meaning that Van der Bellen is ahead.
His supporters celebrated in a first reaction with loud cheers. According to the calculations, the electoral participation was one percent higher than in the last election.
The establishment had smeared Hofer from the outset. In Der Spiegel, a German magazine, Hofer was called a “Nazi” because there were cornflowers on a stage where he appeared. According to the magazine, the “right-wing extremists” associate the flowers with the Third Reich.
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